Artist Of The Month...Rusty McPhee

This months guest artist is Rusty McPhee.

I've known Rusty for a few years now thru my gay artist forum GPA.

Rusty has always pushed himself and thus the medium and has been a joy and positive influence on myself and those at the forum.

More than any other CGI artist, I would say Rusty comes closest to my personal taste in erotic CGI with his butch bad bois dominating pretty bottoms (whether they want to or not)

It's been an honor knowing Rusty and I hope he continues to inspire all of us with his wonderfully nasty Brit boi eroticism.

Love ya Rusty and keep it cumming,
                                                   Ulf
   
Here's  little bit about the man we call Rusty McPhee:

                                           


I’m a Brit, a Londoner – born and bred, and I live on Brick Lane in London’s East End.

I’m 53 years old, single (and still looking!). I’ve been living with HIV for 25 years plus and I’m still going strong – hardly any physical illnesses in all that time. I’m one of the lucky ones, I guess, especially when I think about the friends I lost back in the 80s and early 90s.


I’m a practising Buddhist and have been for sixteen years. I was never particularly religious and I still maintain a healthy cynicism towards any faith that offers a quick fix to one’s troubles or seems to proselytise the idea that it’s the one and only true faith and strives to subjugate alternative belief systems. Of course I wouldn’t practise Buddhism if I didn’t feel it helped me to create value in my life and the lives of others. However, my philosophy is the world is still full of good people regardless of how they choose to explore their spirituality.


As a lot of people who have encountered my work know, I suffer from bipolar disorder which means I experience thrillingly high states of elation (or mania) and crushingly dark and desperate lows. I’m usually most productive when I’m in my down time because that’s when I need to take my mind off of myself. To get lost in my own fantasies and to realise them on screen is very cathartic and helps me on my journey back to my ‘normal’ self.


I only re-engaged with my artistic streak five years ago and found poser art the most satisfying platform to explore that part of me. I used to draw and paint a lot as a kid and a teenager, even got my Art ‘A’ Level (not sure what the equivalent qualification would be in the US). But I never took it any further until years later.


When I decided to start showing my work, I first approached Mickey Ray aka Daddy, who galleried some of my stuff on his wonderful website Daddy’s Here. From there it just kinda grew to my own blog, my own site and now the e-book.


Rusty McPhee is a name that I’ve gone hot and cold on over the few years I’ve used it as my artistic pseudonym. I feel comfortable with it now but only really see the name as a ‘brand’ (which sounds awfully big-headed) rather than an actual part of me. Check back in a year’s time when I’ve talked that one through with my therapist!


My pastimes apart from my artwork. Well, I’m a bit of an old movie buff and tend to have fads. At the moment I’ve been lapping up any old sci-fi stuff I can get my hands on – Flash Gordon all those paranoid 50s movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and It Came From Out of Space. Stuff like that. I still do the gym although I’ve come to realise that irrespective of how much cardio I do and how many crunches I can knock out, gravity and age is catching up with me.


Day job, I work in publicity and marketing. I worked for many years at the BBC but was laid off in 2006 – about the time I started playing around with poser art. Now I work for a mental health charity doing the same thing, publicity and marketing. It’s a great environment to work in as my illness is understood by colleagues and boss. And, it’s work that really makes a difference to people’s lives.


As for the future of Rusty McPhee – well, watch this space, I’m keen to do another e-book project and I’m a lot more confident as an artist than I was even than say a year ago. It’s bit a journey for me and it’s one that I haven’t always felt comfortable continuing because it is so tied up with my illness. But I’ve come to understand that creativity is essential to me feeling whole and now I’m learning to embrace my art a lot more than I used to.

An Interview with Rusty McPhee:

 

How old were you when you first started doing artwork and what motivated you to become an artist?


I started drawing at a very early age. If there was a blank space that needed ‘filling in’ with some of my handiwork - I was there with a crayon or a pencil, whether it was piece of paper, a wall, my Mum & Dad’s wedding album (that didn’t go down too well), I was all over it!


I suppose my motivation for being an artist is not that unusual, especially for someone like myself who suffers from a mental illness. For me, art has and always will be a means of escape. I can create an entire world which I have complete control over. It’s as simple as that really.


It’s also a good means of therapy and very cathartic. When I’m at my most depressed (because of my bipolar disorder), my art keeps me going until I feel I can ‘resurface’.


When did you first start doing erotic artwork and what kind of images did you do then?


When I crashed through puberty, my scrawling took on a more adult quality and I was less inclined to display my ‘masterpieces’ to Mum and Dad. They were mostly pencil sketches. I can’t really remember much about my pubescent doodles but I do remember they centred round the sweet young boy being ganged by a bunch of much bigger boys – so nothing’s changed that much!


Could you explain the process of creating a piece from conception to completion?


The guys, they always come first – the characters that inhabit my 3d world. I actually think I’m more of a story teller than an artist so I like to consider the scenario and what kind of guys will be in that place at that time. So first off, I work on the different characters. I’ll keep going back to them for weeks on end before I’m totally sure they ‘work’ together. Then I’ll get them doing the dirty with each other. Let’s face it, that’s one of my favourite parts of the process. Trying to see what unspeakable poses and positions I can bend these guys into. Then I’ll build the backdrop around them. After a few pics, if I can see the story ‘has legs’, I’ll storyboard with little matchstick thumbnails and work out the narrative.


This is the best way for me. I gotta see if the guys really work together first. In the past, I’ve started off with some very grandiose sets, come up with a convoluted story line and then created the fellas – but by that time I’ve run out of steam or lost interest. So when it comes to creating the first picture of a storybook, I always start with the fuck pics first!


Do you have a preferred medium or are you comfortable trying anything?


Well, most people know me as a 3d artist and that is my preferred medium. Daz Studio has always been my preferred modelling platform (to tell you the truth, I’ve never tried any others) and I use Photoshop for the post work. When it comes to the technical detail in modelling a piece of work, I simply haven’t got a clue. I’ve always worked entirely instinctively with the software I’m using – I’m far too impatient to read manuals!


I intend to go back to sketching and drawing sometime, but I’m so rusty (no pun intended), I’ll need a few classes to get me back on track. Sometimes I do get frustrated by the fact that there are some limitations to what I can achieve as a 3d artist so it makes good sense to expand my skill set.


If you were to quantify yourself as an artist, how would you best describe YOU?


Me: overly organised to the point of destructive obsession, self-possessed and totally insecure but apart from all that, generous and good hearted (I think). And very, very determined – once I get an idea into my head it’s not gonna shift till I see it through - whether it’s in my art or in my everyday life.


My artwork: playful escapist fun. I wouldn’t go any deeper than that. Ultimately, I’m just a crowd pleaser playing to the gallery. If people enjoy my work and come back for more of my stuff, I don’t want to let them down. That doesn’t mean to say that I’ll compromise my (ooh this sounds sooo pompous) artistic integrity. At the end of the day, I gotta keep it fresh. I dread the day that some of the people who enjoy my work may say ‘same old same old’.


Where do you see your artwork going in the next few years, is there anything you want to try but haven't?


I thoroughly enjoyed creating the e-book Billy ‘n’ Chip Undercover. It was enormous fun and if I’m honest (and not wanting to get too heavy about this), it saved my life. So given how rewarding I found the process, I’m definitely going to create a few more e-books. Hard copy publishing would be nice but I really wouldn’t know where to start, and I haven’t got the confidence right now to pursue that angle – but watch this space.


I’d like to try out some animated pieces as well but that’s still way off in the future.


As for ‘real’ art, you know, the stuff that involves pencil and paper. Well as I’ve said, it’s something I intend to do more of - so you may see some of my doodles popping up on my blog or my website.


If anyone, who influenced you as an artist erotic or otherwise?


Etienne I love and currently, I seriously have the hots for the work of Benoît Prévot.


But in the first instance it has to be Bill ‘The Hun’ Schmeling. He always hits my sweet spot when it comes to pig-in-the-trough, supersized fantasy sex. He’s been enormously supportive of my work which makes me feel incredibly humble and inspired.


AND of course there’s your good self. When I discovered your work 8 years ago I was astounded by it – and you continue to amaze me!


Mainstream artist – it has to be Edward Hopper. A wonderful story teller and probably the best artist for capturing and conveying a mood more than any other in my opinion.


What part of doing a piece is the most fun for you?


It’s got to be hitting the render button for the first time. It’s that old movie magic- lights, camera, action! I rarely get it right first time, in fact I’ll normally render a piece of work at least 20 times or so before I’m happy with it. But it’s usually in the rendering process where I’ll discover the happy accident like the shadow that falls in exactly the right place and brings an entirely different mood to the piece.


I get asked this question all the time, so I'm going to ask you the same thing...is your artwork pure fantasy or do you "relive" your experiences through your artwork?


Mmm , yeah, kind of… mostly fantasy but there are a few pieces of work which are, shall we say, ‘autobiographical’. The Desperate Househusband is the closest to something that actually happened to me. It was about 15 years ago. I was in Fort Lauderdale in Florida, painting and decorating a hotel to pay for my stay there and there was this rather luscious guy who came in and did the lawns. Go visit my website and you’ll see how that one panned out!


What is your favorite part of the male anatomy to work on (in a pic or otherwise)


Ass and thighs! Always ass and thighs. Sorry I’m having a spell of the vapours just thinking about it.


I ask this question of every erotic artist I've talked too; have you ever jacked off to your own artwork?


Rarely. I find that the turn on comes when I’m actually thinking up the composition – before it’s actually been created. That’s when I do my jacking off. If the fantasy sticks in my head for more than a few days (and fuels a few more jack off sessions) then it’s time to fire up my trusty PC and get rendering!


Do you identify yourself with any of your characters?


Anyone who’s familiar with my work will know I do a lot of fantasies around the sweet young man being ‘deflowered’ by a group of older, bigger, rougher men. It’s something I have long fantasised about, going as far back as I can remember, hence my earlier answer. So yeah, I fantasise about being that sweet young man – Ranch House Rumble is probably the closest expression to this fantasy.


But strangely I’ve never felt much need to fulfil that fantasy in real life. Not even when I was younger. I consider myself versatile and I don't consider myself sexually passive or submissive.


What kind of man turns you on in real life?


Rugby players always get my full attention, especially Rugby League players – they wear those really tight shortie shorts. Again it’s all about the ass and thighs. My fantasy fella has to be Gareth Thomas – the Welsh rugby player who came out about three years ago.


Finally and most importantly, what kinda beer ya gonna serve me when I finally make it to London?


Oh golly, I don’t really know. Well, I do actually. If you’re ever in these parts Mr Ulf it’s something of a Friday night tradition to hit Brick Lane for a Ruby (that’s cockney rhyming slang for curry) followed by a few jars in my local pub The Carpenters Arm’s on Cheshire Street.


I look forward to it my dear fellow.

http://rustymcphee.com/main/index.php

http://rustymcphee.com/main/2009---Ranch-House-Rumble.php

http://rustymcphee.com/main/2008---Desperate-Househusband.php